Research Associate, Hydrophobic Thin-Film Coatings (DRDO Project) at IIT Roorkee
Job Description
IIT Roorkee’s Institute Instrumentation Centre is hiring a Research Associate for a DRDO-funded project on transparent, water-repellent coatings for underwater use, under Prof. Ramesh Chandra. The work centres on depositing and characterising thin films by sputtering, and the advertisement asks only candidates who already have hands-on sputtering and ellipsometry experience to apply.
At a glance
- Position: Research Associate (1 post)
- Project: Development of optically transparent, mechanically durable and hydrophobic coatings for underwater applications
- Sponsor: DRDO, Ministry of Defence
- Pay: Rs 58,000 per month plus HRA
- Duration: 28 September 2026 to 4 March 2027 (5 months and 5 days)
- Walk-in interview: 23 September 2026, 11:00 AM
Coatings for underwater optics have to do several jobs at once: stay optically clear, shed water, resist scratches and survive corrosion. Sputtering is a common way to build such coatings with precise thickness and composition, and spectroscopic ellipsometry is the standard non-destructive tool for measuring a film’s thickness and optical constants.
About the research associate role
- Synthesise hydrophobic, optically transparent, mechanically hard and corrosion-resistant coatings deposited by sputtering
- Characterise the coatings, including their optical properties by ellipsometry
- Contribute to the project under the Principal Investigator at the Institute Instrumentation Centre
Eligibility
- Ph.D., or M.Tech with three years’ experience, in Physics or Materials Science
- Relevant publications in peer-reviewed journals
- Hands-on experience fabricating thin films by sputtering and characterising their optical properties by ellipsometry (the advertisement says only such candidates need apply)
Open to Indian nationals only. Among equally qualified candidates, SC/ST candidates will be preferred. No TA/DA is paid for attending the interview.
Pay and duration
- Rs 58,000 per month plus HRA
- Fixed term from 28 September 2026 to 4 March 2027
How to apply
Submit an application on plain paper with a detailed CV (listing your degrees and certificates in chronological order) and your research, industrial or other experience, together with attested copies of your degree and experience certificates, to the Principal Investigator’s office: by email to ramesh.chandra@ic.iitr.ac.in, by post, or in person at the interview. Bring your original certificates to the interview for verification.
Key dates
- Walk-in interview: 23 September 2026, 11:00 AM, Committee Room, Institute Instrumentation Centre, IIT Roorkee
- Project term: 28 September 2026 to 4 March 2027
Please read the official IIT Roorkee advertisement (PDF) before applying, and browse more Research Associate jobs on ResearchJobs.in.
Hiring institution: Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
Official advertisement: iitr.ac.in
How to prepare for this application
- Sputtering parameters: be ready to explain how power, pressure, gas mixture and substrate temperature change film structure and properties.
- Ellipsometry modelling: revise how optical models are fitted to extract thickness and optical constants, and how you judge a good fit.
- Hydrophobicity: contact angle, surface energy and the role of surface texture.
- Durability tests: hardness (for example by nanoindentation), scratch and corrosion testing, and what each result means for an underwater coating.
- Your papers: carry your publications and be ready to walk through one thin-film result in detail.
About IIT Roorkee
IIT Roorkee traces its roots to Roorkee College, set up in 1847 and renamed the Thomason College of Civil Engineering in 1854. It became the country's first technical university in 1948, as the University of Roorkee, and was converted into an Indian Institute of Technology on 21 September 2001, when it was recognised as an Institution of National Importance. Much of its research, like this post, runs through externally sponsored projects.
